Chachapoyas to Huaraz

There is a museum-bird lodge in Leymebamba which I had wished to visit, but they never responded to an e-mail. Had I gone there I would have visited Cajarmarca and then to the coast, or Huaraz. But I awoke and decided to back-track to Bagua Grande-Jaen-Chiclayo. It was a long trip in a van and two cars. The last driver was an old man that drove like a maniac. I finally arrived in Chiclayo at 5:30 pm and checked into Intiotel to a large comfortable room for  $35 a night. I roamed and explored Chiclayo that evening and found it to be a vibrant, clean city with a nice climate. Not too hot and not too cool. In the morning I arranged for a taxi to pick me up and take me to the coast to search for the Great grebe. No luck. I did see many species of sea-birds and a few coastal migrants. I went to the beach for a beer that afternoon but found that all alcohol was prohibited the before, and the day of, the presidential election. The hotel bar waved me to the back room and provided my required refreshment. The people were very kind in Chiclayo. I had intended to visit Chaparri Lodge but found them to be very expensive. They are 1.5 hours from the city and transportation would be 450 Soles- more than the room at 335 Soles. That's more than $200 for a few birds. Naw.
I decided to head off to Chimbote, a few hours south along the coast. The bus took all day to reach Chimbote. I arrived about 4:30 pm. The highway wound through a desolate area of dry scrub, when there was scrub. I was shocked and angered at the amount of trash along the roadside. Peruvians and Ecuadorians are shamefull litter-tossers. Their mentality angers me at times. A true blight on the landscape. The taxi driver ripped me off for 10 Soles and took me to the best hotel on the water. It was a large building along the bay, built in 1946. I had a room with a beautiful view of the boats in the bay. The city was loaded with casinos. The fishermen like to gamble, I suppose. I roamed the city, again no beer or booze as it was Election Day. I ate an awful Chifa (Chinese food) and almost got a beer by batting my blue eyes at a pretty bartender. She complimented me, but no beer. In the morning I walked the jetty along the harbor and added a few new species. The Inca terns are so beautiful. No Great grebes. No Guanay cormorants. I am still after these birds. The Gardens in Chiclayo were closed on Monday. So, at 10 am I took a mini-bus to Huaraz. Arrived around 2:30 pm and checked into La Aurora Hotel for $35. I was in awe of the mountains to the east. WOW! Incredible scenery. I met up with my friend Cecilia whom I met in Vilcabamba. She was born in Lima but lived near Panama City, Florida. Indeed, we both had been to Wonderbar many times! She resides here in Huaraz now. This is a touristy-mountain town but in a good way. It isn't overrun with Gringos. You come here to climb and trek the mountains and valleys. Cecilia took me to a restaurant with Alpaca on the menu. It is such a flavorful meat. Had some coca-liqueur as well. Whew! Cecilia helps a girl named Anthula with her adventure company. They arranged for me to go the the Lazy Dog Inn for a night. Anthula drove me up the next day but had car trouble half way and I hitched a ride with a local.
I arrived at the lodge and was greeted by Diana, the owner and her black labs. She showed me my room but when she showed me the cabin with a fireplace I decided to splurge on that. $100 a night which included all meals. My iPhone indicated I was at 12,000 ft. I took a walk up the mountain in the afternoon to bird an immediately added new species. Ground-tyrants and a black hummingbird! The scenery was stunning. I was so close, but yet so far, from the glacial slopes of the Cordillera Blanca. The Inn is also stunning. They put a lot of money into the construction. Very, very nice. A young couple from Spain joined us for dinner. I had one beer and off to bed. I built a large fire and settled in my large, soft bed. But no air. I did not sleep well. I gasped for air all night. I wasn't acclimated. I rose from the bed at 5:30 am and ate the breakfast Diana had sent me to bed with. I began walking back up the mountain but after one hour decided to walk the lower road through the farm land. This proved better for birds anyway. Baron's spinetail, black-throated flowerpiercer. Golden wheatfields. Colorful quinoa. Truly peaceful. When I got back to the Inn Diana insisted I eat more breakfast. They grow everything themselves in greenhouses. Home-made granola with fruit. Great coffee. I then met Diana's husband Wayne. He had been away. He wanted me to review their bird list. I did and found it to be very accurate. I even added a specie of flowerpiercer never seen here. At 11 Diana gave me ride back down into town. I changed hotels to one at $18 a night. It is clean and comfortable.
Cecilia arranged for a private taxi to pick us up the next day at 8:30 am. We would drive to the Huascaran National Park and the lagunas. We drove through the towns leveled by the earthquake of 1970. It also leveled 95% of Huaraz. There are no old buildings here. Just one small street of colonial times remained. There have also been avalanches that have killed thousands. With beauty comes risk. After 2.5 hours we arrived in the river valley surrounded by steep granite cliffs and glaciers. I have never seen such glory. Stop the car!. An Andean goose. Two of them. Further on to the second lake and 16 more! I strolled around for 20 minutes birding then Cecilia and I hit the trails. The polylepis trees are covered in soft paper bark that peels off to reveal a deep cinnamon color. Gorgeous. I saw a rufous-eared brushfinch. They only live here in these valleys. The two lagunas are a deep copper-sulphate blue. The altitude was almost 13,000 ft but I felt fine. We walked the paths for 3 hours then headed back down to have lunch along a river. All the rivers are a clear, bluish glacial stream. And COLD. We came back to Huaraz about 5 pm and Cecilia and I met for a drink to celebrate my goose sighting. Pisco and Campari. Bar service sucks here as it does in Ecuador. Different mindset. After several drinks off to my room and a good sleep.
Tomorrow I head back to Trujillo and Huanchaco beach for a few days. I still need the grebe, cormorant and a Peruvian sheartail hummer. Cecilia has made my visit here very special and rewarding. This has been the highlight of my visit to Perú.


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